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NASA's Aura spacecraft, the latest in the Earth Observing System (EOS) series, arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., to begin launch preparations.

Packed in a special shipping container, Aura was transported from Northrop Grumman's Space Park manufacturing facility in Redondo Beach, Calif. The spacecraft will undergo final tests and integration with a Delta II rocket for launch in June.

Aura's four state-of-the-art instruments will study the atmosphere's chemistry and dynamics. The spacecraft will provide data to help scientists better understand the Earth's ozone, air quality and climate change.

"The entire Aura team is very excited to see all our efforts come to fruition and is looking forward to a successful launch," said Rick Pickering, Aura Project Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Aura fulfills part of NASA's commitment to study the Earth as a global system and represents a key agency contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. This mission will continue the global data collection underway by NASA's other EOS satellites, Terra, which monitors land, and Aqua, which observes Earth's water cycle.

The Aura spacecraft is part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, a long-term research effort to determine how human-induced and natural changes affect global environment.